Battle of Wills (DISCONTINUED)
by toooldtotrickortreat
Summary: An unsteady alliance is eventually formed between the two opposing sides of the Avengers, and everyone's favourite superheroes are back. Except it can't really be that simple, can it? (Contains spoilers for Civil War, Homecoming and Ragnarok)
1. Chapter 1

There were only minutes left of his World History class, but Peter Parker had already packed his stuff and couldn't stop fidgeting. Mr Stark had told him he would be going to the new Avengers base upstate directly after school. Happy Hogan was going to be the driver, and Peter would have to show up in his suit. He wasn't exactly sure what was happening since Mr Stark hadn't been very open with the details, but that didn't stop Peter's excitement and nerves. He hadn't been back up to the new base ever since the whole Vulture-thing (and, if he wasn't being modest, moving day would have been a horrific fail without him) and he had no idea what this could be about.

The second the bell went off, Peter sprinted out the door and down the hallway to get outside, much to the surprise of everyone since Peter Parker was known to linger rather than get out as quickly as possible.

Happy was already at the bottom of the school stairs with the car when Peter arrived. He opened the back door just in time for Peter to go barrelling in, then moved quickly around to the driver's side and head off towards the Avengers base.

"Do you know why I have to go the base, Happy?" Peter asked as he quickly ripped off his clothes to reveal the Spider-suit he had already been wearing underneath. "It's been a couple months, and I'm not an Avenger anyway."

"I believe it has something to do with the events at the airport in Germany," Happy responded, his tone noticeably lighter as he had steadily gotten used to the kid. "That is why you have to go as well." In actual fact, he knew exactly why Peter was being summoned, but Tony had felt that he should be the one to tell the kid and of course Happy was going to oblige.

"As well?" Peter questioned as he stuffed his jeans into his backpack. "Are there gonna be others?" Happy shrugged nonchalantly, and this time Peter could tell he knew more. But he didn't ask because he knew that if Happy was going to tell him more he would have.

It didn't take long to reach the base and by that point, Peter's leg was bouncing up and down with anticipation of what was about to happen. The moment the car came to a stop, Tony Stark walked up and got into the back with Peter, wearing his infamous Iron-Man suit apart from the helmet.

"Hey kid," he greeted as Peter scooted back. He tried to make it come across as giving Tony some room when really he hadn't been prepared and has essentially jumped back. The billionaire seemed to catch on, though, but he didn't acknowledge it.

"H-Hey, Mr Stark," Peter responded, his voice cracking. Why did it always do that around him? "So, uh, what is this about? Because I kinda promised Ned we would build the Millennium Falcon and I already bail on him enough as it is-"

"Slow down, kid," Tony stopped Peter's ramble with a slight chuckle. "This shouldn't take too long, and if it does we'll figure out how to make it up to your friend anyway, okay? From what you told me he helped out with the whole moving day debacle." Peter nodded eagerly and Tony laughed again. Somehow the kid got genuine feelings of happiness out of him rather than the don't-give-a-shit I'm-the-best facade he usually had to wear. Tony told Peter to put the mask on and after he did they left the car to go inside, Tony nodding to Happy for him to park the car in the garage downstairs.

"So, are you gonna tell me why I'm here?" Peter asked after several seconds of walking in silence.

"Oh. Yeah," Tony said. "So, you won't have to do much except not tell them your identity, alright? Tell them whatever, just nothing about who you are. You shouldn't even have to talk that much anyway." Peter glanced over, and even though his eyes were fully covered by the lenses of his suit it was obvious that he was confused.

"What?" he responded. "Who? Who am I not telling stuff?"

"The, uh-" Tony began, but he was soon interrupted.

"There you are!" a voice exclaimed. They both turned to see Rhodey approaching, seeming somewhat unsteady on his leg braces but still managing. "Come on, I've been stalling for ages. Where did you have to get Spider-Man from, anyway? Couldn't he just have swung over earlier?"

"He was busy with work," Tony lied steadily, and Peter did his best not to appear too tense. "Being a crime-fighting spider doesn't exactly pay well when the press makes you out to be a bad guy." Rhodey looked at Tony and Peter, then nodded slowly and gestured for them to follow him. They went into a conference room with glass walls on three sides and a plain one with a monitor that took up most of that side opposite to the door. Even though Peter saw who was sitting inside before he went in, he still couldn't process it after he stepped through the doorframe.

It was all of the people from the airport, plus Thor standing in the corner with his arms crossed. On one side of the table sat Captain America, the Winter Soldier, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Ant-Man, and on the other was Vision and Black Widow. Black Panther sat at the end of the table. Everyone except for Rhodey was wearing their respective battle gear, however, Peter was the only one whose entire face was covered. Ant-Man was wearing his helmet but the cover over his face wasn't there. Rhodey sat in the chair closest to the monitor and Tony sat beside him. Peter lingered awkwardly before Tony gestured to the empty seat next to him. If Peter was being honest, being sat between Iron-Man and Vision was even more terrifying than the Vulture incident.

"Thanks for joining us, Tony," Captain America said. His tone was polite but the look in his eyes was deadly. Everyone in the room could see that he wasn't happy about being there, but then again neither was anyone.

"Don't give me that look," Tony responded coolly. "This was Lightning-Boy's idea anyway."

"I simply wanted to know what exactly what had happened between the Avengers in my absence," Thor stated, wandering to the front of the table so he blocked the monitor. Peter glanced at the eye-patch which covered his right eye and wondered what happened. Also the lack of his signature long blond hair, which had been cut really short. He had better sense than to ask about it, though. "And, after learning of the events and what had led to them, I felt it necessary to try and resolve these issues."

"Good luck with that," Falcon muttered. Peter decided he really needed to learn everyone's names. Sure, the Captain was Steve Rogers and he knew who Tony and Rhodey were, and he guessed Vision was just Vision and Thor was just Thor, but that was it.

"Why not?" Thor asked, looking at Falcon then around the table. Captain America leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Tony. There was something like regret in his eyes, but after one quick glance to the Winter Soldier by his side that remorse quickly settled back to an agitated glint.

"Because _he_ ," Tony started, pointing an accusatory finger at the Winter Soldier, "Killed my parents. And they all refused to sign a contract which could have put an end to us murdering innocent people by dropping buildings on them!"

"It also could have led to the _world_ dying, Tony," Captain America stated. "Because the government saying that they were going to simply 'tell us what battles to head into' was a kind and less controversial way of saying that the Avengers was done without causing some sort of public issue."

"You can resolve your little personal issues later," Black Widow told them, standing up. "What's important is that the government has changed the Accords so that they can simply have a say in what we do rather than order us around. Turns out they really didn't want to lose America's icon."

"Precisely," Thor said, nodding at Black Widow thankfully. "We need to be ready to save the world. Our relationships with each other are secondary to the fate of this planet." Tony opened his mouth to argue but stopped at the glare Rhodey was sending him.

"Fine," he finally said, not taking his hateful glare off of the Winter Soldier. "But I don't want him living under my roof."

"Technically it's property of the Avengers," Falcon cut in. "Not just you. Sure, you funded it, but it's still Avengers property."

"He's not an Avenger," Tony muttered. "And neither is bug-guy over there. What's his name again?"

"Ant-Man," the referred-to responded. "But feel free to call me Scott."

"Yeah, maybe they're not Avengers, but Bucky is with Steve and Scott hasn't even done anything to you," Falcon said. "Plus, he's not an Avenger either." Peter stared at the finger pointed towards him and felt his face go red as all eyes were suddenly on him. "He's not gonna be staying here anyway," Tony quickly defended. "He has a life outside all this, unlike the rest of us. If he's gonna be an Avenger, it won't be for a while. He's only here because he was at the airport with us."

"Why shouldn't he be an Avenger?" Captain America asked, now leaning on the table. Peter tensed, immediately not liking where this was going. "He fought pretty well back then."

"Even if he talks too much during battle," Falcon mumbled.

"And he caught a freaking jet bridge!" the Captain - Steve, Peter reminded himself - continued, choosing to ignore his friend. "There's no reason he shouldn't be part of the team. He could be a valuable asset."

"He's not joining!" Tony shouted, springing to his feet, and everyone stared at him. Except for Peter, who shrunk into his seat and stared intently at the floor. "Why should he have to give up his life like the rest of us if he doesn't have to?"

"He chose to do this!" Steve argued, shifting in his seat as if he was going to stand up. "He chose to go to Germany with you. He chose to take care of his hometown. Why should this have to be any different? Let him choose to be an Avenger!" Tony was barely containing himself by that point. You could basically see the steam coming out of his ears like in old cartoons.

"I think what Mr Stark is trying to say is that there is a difference between protecting a city and protecting a planet," Vision supplied, and Tony nodded towards him.

"He's obviously capable," Steve said, pointing to Peter who impossibly sunk even lower into his chair. He could see the Winter Soldier glancing at him in his peripheral vision but didn't acknowledge him. "He webbed Bucky and Sam. He took my shield. He helped contain Ant-Man. I don't see what the problem is."

Peter couldn't stand to be there anymore, not with his icon and a super-soldier talking like he wasn't even there, so he got up and walked out. Once he was sure no one could see him, he ran the rest of the way down the hall and out the front door.


	2. Chapter 2

The group was silent as they watched Spider-Man leave. None of them knew why he left, not even Tony.

"What…just happened?" Scott asked, the first to look back at everyone.

"Not sure," Steve replied, then he turned his head. "Tony?"

"I'm not fully sure, but may have something to do with the fact that you were going to force him to do something he doesn't want to do?" Tony suggested, a very distinct edge in his words.

"You mean something _you_ don't want him to do?" Steve corrected, who was now getting to his feet. Even though it was a question, he said it more like a statement. Everyone in the room looked at Tony with nervous anticipation of what was about to ensue.

"I mean what I said," Tony muttered angrily. "I know he's capable. I'm fully aware of that. I offered him a spot on the team and he declined. I'm not about to force him into it. He doesn't need that." When Steve didn't immediately respond, Sam cut in.

"He's young, isn't he?" Sam asked, but it wasn't a question. "He probably doesn't like being talked about like he's a kid with no say." He paused before continuing. "How old is he, Tony?"

"…That's not information for me to disclose," he answered after a few tense seconds. Even more silence hung in the air until it was broken yet again by Tony. "I'll go talk to him."

"No you won't," Clint said, standing up. "We still have business to take care of. Someone else go get him. Even if he's not an Avenger, he should still be on the same page as the rest of us.

Thor began to walk toward the door. "I'll retrieve him," he announced, and no one made a move to stop him. They simply watched as he walked in the direction Spider-Man had headed in.

"Sit down," Wanda said, speaking for the first time since the beginning of the meeting. "You don't want to freak him out."

"Are you sure this was a good idea?" T'Challa asked, looking towards Steve. "Maybe some more time to let the dust settle would have been ide-"

"No," Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Better now than never. Too much time would have destroyed any chance of reforming." Then he turned to Tony. "Look, we may have differing opinions on certain topics, but there are more important things. What if the Avengers had been split during the alien attack on New York?"

"We probably would have teamed up, defeated them the exact same way and gone out for shawarma as a silent truce and forgiveness," Tony responded. When most of the room gave him a weird look, he sighed. "But it wouldn't have gone well either."

"Exactly," Steve nodded, relieved that they were finally getting somewhere. "You don't have to forgive, Tony. We couldn't expect that of you. What we ask is for co-operation. Anyone who is an official Avenger or was involved in the airport incident is welcome to stay here and are free to move in and out at their own will. Any of the aforementioned are required to take part in any missions they are called to as soon as physically possible."

"All sounds very technical, Cap," the billionaire commented, feigning doubt. Everyone noticed how he was referring to Steve as Cap in a friendly manner - this might actually work.

"That's because we put it in writing," Sam stated, sliding a single piece of paper with a few paragraphs of text on it. "You don't have to sign anything - we all know how well that went last time. Just agree and we'll go from there. No exceptions once you agree."

"Does anyone disagree?" Steve asked loudly. No one objected, so he nodded and stood up. "Meeting adjourned, then. I'll go see if Thor and Spider-Man agree to these terms, which I anticipate they will, then everything will be settled.

"And if they don't?" Tony spoke up. Steve turned back around and raised a single eyebrow. "Hypothetically," he added.

"Then they can't stay here," Steve told him simply. "And they must have little to no contact with members of the Avengers and not associate themselves with us." Tony nodded and stood up as well, and soon everyone else followed suit and dispersed through the compound. Everyone knew that Steve was talking about Spider-Man - even a blind man could see how protective Tony was of him, not just of the superhero but of the person underneath the mask.

* * *

Thor was happy that he found Spider-Man relatively quickly. What surprised him was where exactly the boy was - hanging upside down just outside the front door. He seemed to be glued to the roof which covered the area outside the entrance to the compound, sitting cross-legged but hanging like a bat.

"How are you doing that?" Thor asked, his naturally deep voice booming through what had just been silence. Spider-Man jumped and turned his head, then stuck his hand to the ceiling and almost gracefully unfolded himself so that he was in a normal position, then dropped down a foot or so to the ground. The entire time he maintained eye contact with Thor, or at least that's what it seemed like since the white lenses never strayed from his face. "Of course, I have power over lightning but that's because I'm a god. But I've never heard of a god who can stick to surfaces like that. Is it the suit?"

"…No," Spider-Man replied, his voice cracking as he spoke with what seemed like a combination of nerves and puberty. He was definitely young, Thor decided. "I can do it without the suit, but I'm not a g- It's a long story."

"I'm sure," Thor chuckled lightly. "Do you want to go back to the meeting? I'm sure it will be more civilised now." Spider-Man shook his head.

"I'd rather not," he said slowly. "Just, not yet. I might just, you know, stay out here for a while." Thor nodded, then turned to leave the boy in peace. "You don't have to leave if you don't want!" Spider-Man added, almost too quickly. Thor chuckled slightly, then neutralised his expression and turned back.

"If you insist," he shrugged. He sat down on the step which led up to the door, and when Spider-Man hesitated he gestured for him to sit down beside him. Spider-Man seemed to be several inches shorter than himself, and despite the way his skintight suit showed muscles through it he still appeared fairly skinny.

Thor grinned as he looked back at the boy. He didn't have to see his eyes to know he was staring intently at the eye-patch he had recently begun to wear.  
"Do you want to know how this happened?" Thor asked, laughing a bit. He really didn't know why - the story wasn't exactly a comedy. Except, looking back, it kind of was. The lenses of the Spider-Man mask widened and Thor imagined the boy's eyes widening behind them. When he didn't respond, Thor launched into the story. He spoke of being locked in that cage for so long, his reunion with Loki, his fight with Hela, battling the Hulk to escape that godforsaken planet and everything that had happened. He was delighted when Spider-Man laughed at all the jokes and froze with shock at the drama. Thor couldn't wait to tell the Avengers what happened - they might not show such childlike wonder but it would certainly be interesting.

"Sounds like Mr Stark has really been rubbing off on you," Spider-Man said when he finished. Thor laughed and conceded with that - he could see where the boy was coming from with that one.

A knock on the door - from the inside, which was a weird thing to happen - had the two spinning with obviously enhanced reflexes. Thor leant over to open it, and none other than Steve Rogers stood in the frame, clutching a piece of paper in his hand. Even though Steve was a bit shorter than Thor himself, it made Spider-Man seem even smaller.

"Hey," Steve greeted, looking back and forth at the two men in front of him as if he didn't know which one to settle his gaze on. "The meeting finished, you just have to agree to these terms. Don't worry - no signatures." He quickly realised that Thor had been absent during the whole incident and Spider-Man had most likely been unaware of the full situation, so they wouldn't really get what he was referring to. It didn't really matter, though, as Spider-Man just took the paper from his grip to read and Thor simply spared it a cursory glance over the kid's shoulder.

"I agree to those terms," Thor nodded, crossing his arms and grinning. "Fairly self-explanatory." Spider-Man seemed to read over it a few times, probably nitpicking for any fine print, but after not finding any slowly nodded his consent and handed the sheet back.

"That seems fine," he said, though somewhat hesitantly. "But I won't be living here. Speaking of which, I have to get back home, so-" Steve raised his hand to cut him off and simply nodded.

"That's fine," he stated. "Just swing by fairly often. And call if you need anything or something goes wrong. You patrol around New York, right?"

"Mostly Queens, but yeah," Spider-Man confirmed. "I guess if I hear something's happening in the city then I'll go over, but most of the time it's just easier to stay close to home."

"I understand that," Steve nodded, a small smile on his features. "So, yeah, if anything gets too hectic and you need backup, just let us know and we'll be there. I'm assuming you have Tony's number?" When Spider-Man nodded, Steve did too and gestured for the kid to take off. With a quick thanks, he left in a car obviously being driven by Happy. Steve had been expecting him to go web-slinging away, but then remembered that the compound wasn't the most convenient place to do that from. Steve lingered as he watched the car drive off into the distance, then went back inside with Thor close behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

The group, excluding Spider-Man, were either lounging on the couches of the living room or standing throughout the kitchen. It was almost like before the whole Accords thing. Except it wasn't - the tension was too heavy.

"Is anyone else not living here?" Tony finally asked, breaking the silence. After a second of looking around, T'Challa rose from his seat and walked over to him.

"I'll be returning to Wakanda," he informed, and though he was looking at Tony as he spoke the statement was directed at everyone. "I must take care of my people, whether that be as king or the panther. Thank you, for your hospitality, Tony. I will be heading off now."

"Do you need a ride?" Tony asked. T'Challa shook his head, and after a brief set of goodbyes, he left. When no one else said that they were going to live elsewhere, Tony directed them to the east side of the building where a series of quite luxurious guest bedrooms were set. There were several on the ground floor and an exposed landing on the second floor revealed an equal amount more. Even if they all had their own rooms - which they were going to - there would still be a fair few left over. Everyone seemed to disperse fairly evenly, the only people making an effort to be near each other being Clint and Natasha, then Steve and Bucky.

"You're even staying, blondie?" Tony said with a laugh, clapping down on Thor's shoulder as he walked past.

The larger man nodded. "Indeed. I will explain later, perhaps over dinner or something." Tony thought about this for a moment but soon shrugged and let him go. He watched as they all chose rooms then filed away to their own business. Things were going to be awkward at first - Thor's sudden reappearance after months of nothing, that Ant-Man guy (Scott?) and Peter adjusting to the team, and coming to terms with each other. This was going to be tough. He just hoped everyone would be able to withstand it - there were bigger things at stake than their emotions. He knew he was being a hypocrite, but couldn't find it in himself to care.

* * *

"You met Captain America?!" Ned demanded, his voice reaching a higher register than normal. Usually, Peter would have been worried about how loud his friend was talking, but Aunt May knew about his Spider-Man thing and he planned on telling her later anyway. No more secrets.

"I did before today," Peter pointed out, sorting through the infinite Lego bricks. "In Germany. I told you about that."

"Not really," Ned shrugged. "You just said you fought some of the Avengers, really. And we all knew about that anyway. Oh, and that you stole Captain America's shield. Man, I can't believe you just met the freaking Avengers."

"Yeah," Peter chuckled. "I mean, Bruce Banner wasn't there, but everyone else was. Thor's really nice. His eye got cut out and he has to wear a patch now." Ned just exhaled and shook his head disbelievingly.

"And you were the first to hear the story?"

"Maybe. I don't know who else he's told."

They both looked up at each other then. Ned, with dark eyes widened and happy. Peter, his eyes conveying a similar exhaustion to the heroes he had so recently met, but still holding some form of innocence that none of them had maintained.

"I wouldn't say I'm jealous, Pete, but _wow_ ," Ned sighed happily, abandoning the Lego set in front of them to lean against the bottom bunk of Peter's bed. "Getting to hang out with the Avengers. You used to be a huge geek over them."

"I'm still a huge geek over them," Peter corrected and they both laughed a bit. "But, they don't know who I am, except for Mr Stark, obviously. What do you think they'd say if they found out I just catch random thieves on the street and was dumb enough to take down a plane in a freaking hoodie."

"I would say you were _brave_ enough to take down a plane in a hoodie," Ned commented, causing Peter to smile a bit. "If anything, your age might be a concern. Isn't Captain America, like, 90? Technically?"

"Technically," Peter confirmed. "Him and the Winter Soldier. He has a metal arm. That's cool."

"You've mentioned that before," Ned informed him vaguely. "What is it with you and the Winter Soldier's arm?"

"It's just cool," he shrugged. "Plus when he tried to punch me I caught it. He seemed pretty shocked about it, so I guess that doesn't happen much." Ned's eyes widened like a little kid on Christmas morning, much like when he found out Peter's little 'night activity' in the first place.

"Okay, man, I'm gonna need all the details," Ned stated, completely disregarding the set and shoving it away. "Of the airport thing in Germany, and of today. I want to know why Thor's eye is gone." Peter laughed and launched into the story. Even though it may have come across as a little biased since it was his point of view and he didn't want to look bad, Ned was fully invested, his jaw dropping when Peter went on to describe the more dramatic bits.

"Wow," Ned sighed almost dreamily as Peter finished. He just sat there, thinking about what he had just been told when he suddenly perked up. "Do you think I can meet them? Or at least see them?"

"Maybe," Peter responded slowly, and the hesitation in his tone seemed to disappoint his friend. "Not that I don't want you to!" he said quickly. "It's just that they seem to like privacy. Plus, they don't know anything about me, and Spider-Man walking around with another teenager might give some details away.

"So they don't know who you are?" Ned asked, raising an eyebrow. All dreaminess and wonder was gone, replaced with slight doubt and scepticism. "How is that gonna work?" Peter just shrugged. "Don't you think they deserve to know? You did kind of battle them, plus you know who they are."

"Everyone knows who they are," Peter pointed out. "And I can't have anyone knowing except for you, Aunt May and Mr Stark. If people knew then you guys might be targeted."

"But the Avengers aren't gonna target us, or anyone," Ned stated. "I think they're gonna find out eventually." Peter shrugged and after a few seconds silence, they went back to the Lego set. Although Peter tried to maintain a relaxed exterior, his mind was racing too fast for him to keep up with. He knew Ned was right - that the Avengers were going to find out at some point. It was only fair, and it wasn't like they were the enemy. That didn't mean Peter had to like it.

* * *

Dinner that night was awkward, to say the very least, and Bucky knew that was primarily on him. Sure, an outsider may see it as the recent brawl between American-icon Captain America and the world famous Iron Man, but who had that been over?

Wanda Maximoff and Vision were talking to each other quietly, as were Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. They had fought on opposing sides, but it hadn't taken them long at all to reconcile.

Bucky supposed it hadn't taken that long between himself and Steve, either. Well, for Steve, anyway. Looking back, it had been obvious from the start that Steve just wanted his friend back. A piece of the past to cling on to, maybe, or just the comfort of the person he'd known practically since birth. But Bucky hadn't trusted himself. Not until Steve had to pull him out of the cryo chamber just a couple of weeks after being put in. There had been a situation - not a global issue, but could still have devastating consequences. That was when they had met up with Tony Stark's side, putting aside their differences for a couple of hours to get the job done. Although a fair few people had been injured, the death count was 0 and that was what mattered.

The government had been pissed at Tony for going against the Accords, but after the details came in they decided to revise. Bucky was presuming it was simply for the sake of their reputation.

But when the Winter Soldier didn't make an appearance during that fight, Bucky started feeling a bit more secure. It was James Buchanan Barnes, fighting alongside his best friend like during the war, and when Steve had gotten a minor injury it was Bucky who patched it up, just like it was back then. He chose not to go back under, instead deciding to make up for lost time.

And there they were, eating mostly silently and thinking about whatever it was heroes thought about in their downtime. But Bucky didn't think of himself as a hero, so instead, he kept his mind blank, eating as quickly as possible so that he could hide in his room and not feel the hateful glares from Tony, or the weariness everyone except Steve and perhaps Vision seemed to feel.

* * *

 **Hey guys~ The reaction to this story has been amazing and waking up to a bunch of notifications saying you all enjoyed it is honestly the best. This chapter was kind of short and maybe a bit of an info-dump but most of the story has been established so we can just get on to the good parts. I'm so sorry about how long this took but I've been busy with school and stuff. My six-week break is in like a fortnight though so I should be able to post more. Unfortunately, new chapters will probably be inconsistently posted but I'll do my best to upload regularly enough. Thanks again!**


	4. Chapter 4

Steve Rogers couldn't help but feel on edge as he laid on his bed that night. As usual, he couldn't sleep. Chances were very few of the people taking residence in the compound actually were able to. Based on his interactions with him, he was pretty sure that Scott was alright, and hoped that everyone else was. But he wasn't that naive - he knew with certainty that Bucky next door probably wasn't even trying to get some shut-eye and Tony was probably in his lab with a lifetime supply of coffee about to be consumed by sunrise. He wondered if Thor was asleep - do gods even need sleep? Then he thought about Spider-Man - hopefully he was getting some rest.

There was a soft knock on the door before it opened slowly and Bucky slipped through before shutting it again. Steve sat up and crossed his legs so that his friend would have enough space to sit down, even though it wasn't really necessary considering the size of the bed.

"What's going on?" Steve asked. "Can't sleep?" He already knew the answer, but whatever conversation the man had in mind had to start somehow.

"'Course not," Bucky deadpanned. "When do either of us ever get through more than a few hours without some wake-up screaming nightmare?" Steve frowned at that. He had a point, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Are you in here for a specific reason?" Steve couldn't help but question. "Or is it just to remind me how freaking messed up we are?"

Bucky chuckled lightly. "A bit of both, maybe," he sighed. "But, really, I needed to ask you something." Steve nodded for him to continue. "Do you…think I should go back under cryo?"

Steve sighed. He knew this question would come up eventually, and he found it interesting that it hadn't happened sooner. He chose to answer with another question. "Do you?"

"I don't know," Bucky responded, standing up and beginning to pace. "I don't want to, but what if the…other guy makes an appearance? I can't have that happening. I can't hurt you or anyone on the team. Not even…not even Tony Stark. I don't care how much he hates me or wants to hate me so he can blame someone for what happened, I'm not hurting him. I'm not hurting anyone."

"You won't have to," Steve assured him. "We had another team member who was kind of in the same situation. I don't know where he is now, but we helped him. And we can help you."

"Hopefully," Bucky muttered. "This other member - who was he?"

"Bruce Banner," Steve replied softly. "Exposure to gamma radiation turned him into the Hulk - whenever he got angry or his heart rate got too high he would turn into this giant, green, indestructible monster. But he gained control."

"Hmm," Bucky hummed, thinking about this other person. The name 'the Hulk' sounded familiar in some distant part of his mind but he didn't know why. Perhaps overhearing stuff during his time as the soldier. "Except this is different. I know it wasn't his fault, but changing was essentially up to him. I can't do that. All someone has to do is read a couple of stupid words and I go haywire."

"Maybe we just have to find a way to block it out?" Steve suggested. "We can figure it out. We have time for that now. It's up to you, Buck, but I think we can work this out. And if not - if there is no solution at all - then we'll consider it. If not friends, you at least have allies now. We'll figure something out. I'll make sure of it." Bucky smiled softly and looked down, and god Steve had missed this. Missed all these late-night talks when neither of them could sleep, or one was desperate enough to wake up the other. Of course, back then, their conversations hadn't been nearly as serious, but just being able to talk to Bucky was something Steve hadn't realised he needed so badly until now.

"Come on," Steve said, lifting the blanket off of himself and standing up. "We'll get something to eat and watch a movie. Apparently, we've missed out on a lot." Bucky laughed and followed him to the living room before speaking again.

"Seriously, I will never get used to you being taller than me." Steve gave him a shit-eating grin and they both chuckled. For once, Steve had found some contentment - he had his best friend back.

* * *

Peter crawled through his bedroom window, quickly got changed into sweatpants and an ill-fitting t-shirt and ran his hands through his hair. It was late, and he knew that now, but time had gone too fast and crime after crime had been thrown at him so that he didn't even have a chance to ask Karen to tell him the time. Originally, he had programmed May's designated curfew into the suit, but it became too distracting and resulted in a few bruises, so he turned it off.

"You're late," a voice spoke from the doorway. With a sigh, Peter turned to face his aunt. "I can handle a few minutes, maybe even half an hour, but not three!"

"I know," Peter whispered, his hands dropping to his sides as he followed May down the hall to the kitchen for dinner. He was sure she had already eaten, considering how late it was, but she insisted on waiting until he got home to ensure that he was safe for the night. "I know, and I'm sorry."

"If you were sorry, you'd actually do something about it," May muttered, sliding a plate of reheated lasagna across the counter to him along with a fork. "Peter, it's more often than not that you come home way past your curfew. I'd make it earlier, but that would do nothing. And I can't ground you because people need you. I get that, I just don't get why it has to be you."

"I don't either," he shrugged, and May turned to face him with a look of surprise. "I don't know why it's me," he repeated, "But it is. I didn't ask for it to be, but life just does that sometimes. We know that better than a lot of people." May nodded, her eyes beginning to water, but she quickly wiped it away.

"Then why do you do it?" she asked softly. "Why not just use your…abilities as a party trick or something?"

"They'd think I was a mutant, which wouldn't be good," he shrugged. "And I just have to do it."

"Why?"

"Because someone has to. And if that's me, then so be it. When Mr Stark first approached me, he asked me why."

May nodded. All anger was gone, replaced with the love of a family member as well as a little curiosity. "What did you say?"

Peter sighed. "I said that when you have the ability to save people, but you don't, then whatever happens is on you, because you could have done something but didn't."

"Well, I'm not sure I fully agree with that philosophy," May commented, "But it definitely is part of your character." Peter nodded and finally took a bite of his food. It was good, but with his metabolism pretty much everything was good. Not enough time to concentrate on taste when you just need the nutrients.

"Just, please Peter, try to get home a bit earlier?" she asked him. "Please? At least call if you know you're gonna be late."

"I will," Peter nodded. "Sorry for, you know, making you worry."

"Just make a bit more of an effort not to," she told him, and he nodded. Peter ate in silence with May sitting beside him, though the quiet wasn't uncomfortable. When he finished, May took the plate to do the washing up.

"At least you don't have school tomorrow," May pointed out. "Still, you should try to get some sleep." Peter nodded and walked back to his room. He flopped onto his bed and rolled over to face the wall. Sleep was not going to come easily - it never did these days - but he would try. For his aunt's sake.

* * *

 **God this took so long to do I'm so sorry. I just got out of school for the next few weeks so I'll be able to update a bit more (hopefully). I'm going to say now that although mutants do exist in this story's universe, the X-Men and associated characters won't make an appearance. As much as I love that series, I'm not going to include them (there are plenty of other fics with that if you want them). Feel free to leave suggestions for future chapters and thanks for reading!**


	5. Author's Note

hey guys

i'm so so sorry for not posting in months o my god

so i'm gonna be continuing this story but not on here? lol

i've moved to ao3 (i just prefer the format tbh) so if you want to continue reading this (which, btw, i'm rewriting the beginning anyway) just head over there! i have the same username as on here

sorry for the inconsistency/inconvenience

\- toooldtotrickortreat


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